MA motivation letter

I definitely agree with your suggestion. I added one example of my personal experience (sentences in bold) although I am not quite sure if it is in the right place in the letter or if I should include anything else... any comments or suggestions are of course very appreciated.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am applying to your MA Tourism and Culture programme starting in September 2018. In 2011, I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in French Language and Literature from Faculty of Philosophy in X and was honoured to be one of two students in my department who won the “Excellent Bachelor Thesis” award. True respect for both mine and other cultures inspired me to work in tourism and travel industry as well as to spend a part of my career abroad. My work and travel experiences allowed me to use my foreign language skills and thus to connect easily with people from other cultures but also to learn about issues and challenges in their communities.

My future career goal is to work in the development and implementation of plans and programs to attract and sustain cultural tourism and business, especially in poor rural areas. Promoting their cultural traditions draws tourists and therefore economic benefits which can provide them with the access to better education. I believe that this can empower and motivate local communities to appreciate and care for their heritage and cultural authenticity. Given the extraordinary quality of the programmes at X University that combine coursework with field experience, this would be a great way to achieve my professional aspirations.

This motivates me to research (the concept of) authenticity in cultural tourism as one of the key factors in attracting cultural tourists. I would like to study the understanding of authenticity’s various interpretations in cultural tourism with a particular focus on the authenticity of tourists’ experiences. An increasing number of tourists are pursuing self-actualization through travel as it frees them from the constraints of everyday life and leads them towards feeling much more authentic and more freely self-expressed. I find that existentialism offers a very valuable perspective to the motives and perceptions of tourists. According to existentialism there is no inherent meaning to life, but each individual is responsible for making their life meaningful which helps us to understand the tourists’ quest for authenticity and therefore the development of cultural tourism. During my visit to Jordan, I had an opportunity to meet a Bedouin family and enjoy their well known hospitality. Sharing their culture, learning about their values and getting close to their authentic way of life were the very aspects that made this experience truly unique to me.

Exploring these subjects in your multinational classrooms would help me to understand how different cultures experience travel. Moreover, your interdisciplinary study approach would be an excellent opportunity to apply existentialist philosophical and literary understandings from my previous education in the context of tourism and culture.

Because I am a dynamic, ambitious and highly motivated student with a strong record of success, I am confident that I will exceed your expectations. Furthermore, my varied and rich background will add diversity to your programme.

Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to your acceptance.

Yours faithfully,